Knowledge Base

What is photovoltaics and photovoltaic installation? This is a set of devices that allows you to obtain electricity from the sun. The basic element that makes up photovoltaic systems are solar panels, mounted on the roofs of private houses, company buildings or public buildings, made of silicon. The profitability of a photovoltaic installation results not only from lower electricity costs, but also from ecology and economic solutions – photovoltaic systems are maintenance-free and their use does not involve any financial outlays.

Moreover, a photovoltaic installation does not harm the environment and does not require applying for a special permit if its power does not exceed 50 kW. It is worth remembering that if we decide to install photovoltaic installations, we can apply for funding in the form of a subsidy, thanks to which the investment will pay off after about 6-7 years.

With the purchase of a photovoltaic set, you receive a warranty on its main components, i.e. the inverter and panels. Our components are from Polish distribution, so there is no reason to worry if there is a need to make a complaint about the device.

In the case of inverters, their warranty is usually 10 years and all support and warranty repair orders can be obtained directly from the Polish distributor. The basis of the warranty is the warranty card, which you receive in the package with the inverter. The inverters included in our sets are inverters from proven manufacturers with official branches in Poland, which reduces any risk to zero. According to our suppliers, with current communication technology, over 70% of faults and failures can be repaired/reconfigured remotely via the Internet by a given inverter manufacturer. However, if the fault results from the physical failure of some element in the inverter, the inverter will be repaired or replaced within 2 weeks.

The panels are a maintenance-free device, so there is probably nothing wrong with them that would not be mechanical damage, which is why manufacturers provide such long warranties. Photovoltaic panels usually have a 10-12-year product warranty and a 25-year warranty on their performance, and the basis for the warranty is a sales invoice from our company. Our photovoltaic modules come only from Polish distribution. Therefore, if something bad happens to the panel, it is replaced almost immediately, because both our stocks and the stocks of Polish distributors are containerized. In extreme cases, if your panel is not immediately available in one of the Polish warehouses – the panel will be ordered directly from the manufacturer in China and then the replacement will be extended to 50 days. However, this is an extreme and very unlikely situation.

The manufacturer’s warranty is 10 years. It is not without reason that we cooperate with Growatt, because apart from their excellent quality of inverters, they are also one of the few manufacturers who have their official branch in Poland. Therefore, there is no problem with breakdowns, everything is carried out immediately in Poland. Contact with Growatt is extremely simple and pleasant, the company has a branch in Poland, their unit is located in Ruda Śląska. This is high-class equipment, so I wouldn’t anticipate the need to contact the manufacturer. We have never had a Growatt inverter fail and have to be sent back to the manufacturer. Sometimes, however, when it “hangs” due to uneven operation on the network or something – Growatt can repair over 70% of failures remotely (the inverter has a WIFI connection). However, if the “guts” are damaged and it cannot be repaired remotely, we send the inverter to Growatt. The warranty is respected when the inverter is installed (stamped on the warranty card) by an electrician with SEP qualifications (operation is enough).

The panels are unlikely to be damaged because it is a static, maintenance-free device, so there is nothing much that can happen to it. However, if the panel fails, you have a 10-year warranty, which is provided directly by the Polish distributor. Our distributors have container stocks, so they will immediately replace the panel for you overnight, but this happened to us only once out of hundreds of sets sold.

– Of course, we help and are responsible for the warranty of both the inverter and the panels, so instead of contacting the distributor immediately, you can contact us and we will try to diagnose and solve the problem as quickly as possible (we often also have replacement panels in stock). ). Both panel distributors and the Growatt Polska branch are giant companies that will certainly stay on the market longer than the guaranteed products and will not cause any problems with possible claims. We won’t write about the reliability and experience of our company – just read the opinions.

A grid photovoltaic installation is a great way to save on electricity bills. In addition to the above-mentioned possibility of transmitting excess generated energy, the RES Act also provides for a system of discounts for prosumer installations (net-metering). The system of discounts for prosumer photovoltaic installations allows the owner of a micro-installation to send surplus energy to the public grid and collect it from it within one year. This is the so-called annual energy balancing, i.e. settling the difference between the electricity consumed and fed into the network on an annual basis. This means that the energy produced and fed into the grid can be “received” by the prosumer at another time. The energy that photovoltaic installations produced in May can be “collected”, for example, in February of the following year. This type of storage of electricity in the network is a very cost-effective solution that makes the owner of a PVP installation independent of the increase in electricity prices.

An essential element of a grid photovoltaic installation is a bidirectional counter. Its task is to count the electricity generated by the photovoltaic installation and collected from the public network. It is therefore a measuring device that measures bidirectional current flow – to and from the network. On their basis, the prosumer settles accounts with the energy company. The functionality of the electrical network is maintained. The only difference is an additional micro-installation for electricity production. Depending on the inverter (single-phase, three-phase), we power one or three phases.

An equally important element creating photovoltaic systems and PV installations is the solar inverter, or inverter. This is a device that can easily be called the heart and brain of the entire installation. Its task is to convert direct current supplied by solar panels into alternating current, the parameters of which will be consistent with those of the public network. Without it, the energy produced would be useless because we could not use it to power devices used at home or in our company.

The set includes:

• PV photovoltaic panels – their number depends on the power of the installation
• Inverter – a device that converts direct current into alternating current
• Energy consumption and production counter
• Mounting system – properly adjusted to the roof or ground
• Cables, protections and other necessary accessories

Wherever they have access to sunlight and this is actually the most important requirement that must be met. The panels are installed at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees towards the south. However, there are no major restrictions on space. Photovoltaic panels can be installed on roofs, both sloping and flat, as well as on shelters, special booms or on the ground.

It is not recommended to replace or add photovoltaic panels from another manufacturer and with different parameters to the existing module chain. Different current characteristics of the replaced panel will negatively affect the rest and may lead to a number of consequences. If it is necessary to replace the module, select one whose current-voltage characteristics are very similar to those in the string. If it is not possible to select such a module, then an optimizer should be used (e.g. TIGO available in our store). Alternatively, we can connect several panels to the second circuit in the inverter (if the inverter has a separate MPPT tracker and the number of panels exceeds the minimum starting voltage).

The main difference is that with optimizers we need an external inverter, and microinverters do not need one main inverter. It seems convenient, but microinverters work in difficult conditions and are therefore prone to failure. Repairing or replacing a microwave in a rooftop photovoltaic installation is extremely time-consuming and expensive. This is why these solutions have not found much demand on our market. An alternative are optimizers which, despite being located under the panels, send power to the central inverter, which is easy to maintain and repair.

Wherever they have access to sunlight and this is actually the most important requirement that must be met. The panels are installed at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees towards the south. However, there are no major restrictions on space. Photovoltaic panels can be installed on roofs, both sloping and flat, as well as on shelters, special booms or on the ground.

Determining the size of the planned photovoltaic installation is a very important element. You should estimate electricity consumption over a given period of time as accurately as possible. If the installation is too small for our needs, we will have to purchase energy shortages from the network, which will extend the payback time of the investment. On the other hand, the installation cannot be overestimated, because surplus energy transferred to the grid and not used during the year will simply be lost to the Power Plant.

In order to estimate the size of the installation, several important elements should be taken into account:

in the case of existing buildings, electricity bills from previous years will be necessary (based on them, you can estimate the energy consumption in a given facility. In the case of new buildings, you should realistically estimate the consumption based on individual needs) you should check the available area (on the roof, on the ground) as also any obstacles (trees, chimneys, buildings) that may limit the installation of the installation.

Please note that energy production depends on the location of the place where we want to install the panels. Therefore, the angle of the roof or the degree of its deviation from the south is important.

In 90% of cases, 4mm2 wires are enough. When the panels are connected in series, the most common way, the circuit voltage is added up while the current remains constant. As is commonly known, the cross-sectional thickness of a wire depends on the current flowing through it, while voltage does not have a negative impact on it (high-voltage power lines with relatively small cross-sections). Therefore, a 4mm2 cable is usually sufficient. However, if the distance from the panels to the inverter is greater than 40m or a parallel connection is used, then a cross-section of 6mm or 10mm2 should be selected.

First of all, you should check whether the installation in the building is single-phase or three-phase. If it is 1f, unfortunately it is not possible to install a 3-phase inverter. However, if the home installation is three-phase, we can install both single- and three-phase photovoltaics. Please remember that from 4kW upwards we can legally connect only three-phase photovoltaic installations.

A standard photovoltaic panel, both polycrystalline and monocrystalline, consists of 60 cells connected in series (6 x 10 pcs.). Such a classic sixty-cell photovoltaic module usually has dimensions of approximately 1.65 m x 1 m. Solar panels in Half Cut technology (120 cells) usually have dimensions close to 1.73 m x 1.03 m. There are also enlarged modules with powers above 400W – 72 cells in basic versions or 144 cells in Half-Cut versions. The dimensions of enlarged panels are usually approximately 2m x 1m. Of course, dimensions may vary slightly depending on the manufacturer – the above dimensions are examples.